Practical 3D model of masonry arch bridges and tunnel linings
The decision support tools currently used by bridge owners and their consultants tend to be highly simplified, and incapable of identifying bridges which are likely to deteriorate under traffic loads, and of diagnosing the causes of a range of commonly encountered defects.
For example, available numerical modelling tools for masonry arch bridges generally adopt two-dimensional idealisations of behaviour, which has meant that a wide range of intrinsically three-dimensional modes of response have been little explored, and that bridges exhibiting intrinsically 3D modes of response (e.g. diagonal cracks) are often demolished rather than repaired, at significant expense. A key aim of the present project is to address this, using high quality experimental test results obtained from tests on 3D bridge models to calibrate a 3D numerical model capable both of capturing key modes of response and of being used by practitioners.
Sponsor
NETWORK RAIL LIMITED
Project Dates
Start Date : 30/10/2017
End Date : 01/04/2020
People Involved